Hearing loss decisions — 2026

The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, left hip strain, back disability, and left ankle sprain due to insufficient evidence of current disabilities or a link between service and these conditions.

The Veteran's claims for hearing loss, headache, sleep disorder, sore throat, and upper back disability have all been denied as there is no persuasive evidence of current disabilities in any of these conditions.,There are no persuasive medical findings or diagnoses supporting the presence of a current hearing loss, headache, sleep disorder, sore throat, or upper back disability.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for CKD, bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, and OSA due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus but has remanded the issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss due to a failure to consider the Veteran's lay statements regarding noise exposure during active duty.

The Board has decided to remand both the respiratory disability and bilateral hearing loss disability claims due to incomplete service records and inadequate medical opinions. The Veteran will have an opportunity to provide additional evidence, including private treatment records, and a VA examination is scheduled for each claim.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted service connection, but his right and left ear hearing loss are denied.

The Board has granted service connection for right ear hearing loss and tinnitus. The claim for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss is being remanded for further review.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions and a need for further development.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including hearing loss, right hip condition, bilateral knee condition, middle/lower back condition, anemia, respiratory condition, hyperlipidemia, and benign prostate hypertrophy. The evidence did not support a current diagnosis of any of these conditions.

The Veteran's right breast gynecomastia did not result in significantly disabling impairment of the skin and is therefore denied an initial compensable rating.,There is no evidence of a current right ear hearing loss disability for VA purposes, and thus service connection for this condition is denied.,Service connection for left ear hearing loss is also denied as there was no showing of a relationship between the Veteran's military noise exposure and his current hearing loss.,The Veteran's claimed left finger disability did not have its onset during active service and is therefore not service connected.,Similarly, the right finger disability did not have its onset during active service and is also not service connected.,Lumbosacral strain, left elbow disability, and right elbow disability are all denied as there was no showing of a relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.,Left wrist sprain is also denied as it did not have its onset during active service and is not otherwise etiologically related to such service.

The Veteran's attorney withdrew the appeal for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, and the Board has dismissed it.

The Board denied an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for hearing loss, finding that the claim was filed more than a year after separation from active duty and thus the effective date is set at November 21, 2024.

The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus as the evidence does not show a relationship to military service.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a 20% disability rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied because the earliest date entitlement arose was December 13, 2024.

The Board has decided that the Veteran does not have service connection for bilateral hearing loss or tinnitus. The decision is remanded to obtain a medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's tinnitus.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been granted service connection as they are related to his military service.

The Veteran's appeal for a compensable disability evaluation for bilateral hearing loss (BHL) is denied.,The Veteran's appeal for a disability evaluation in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus is denied.,The Veteran's appeals for effective dates prior to October 28, 2015 for the grants of service connection for BHL and tinnitus are denied.,The Veteran's appeal for an effective date prior to October 28, 2015 for the grant of service connection for hepatitis C is denied.,The Veteran's appeals for a disability evaluation in excess of 40 percent for hepatitis C prior to May 3, 2024 and for SMC and DEA are remanded.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his in-service noise exposure and his current condition. The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's hearing loss did not manifest within one year of separation from active duty or to a compensable degree during service.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus. The claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss and sleep apnea are remanded due to inadequate medical opinions.

The Veteran's initial noncompensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is being remanded due to an inadequate VA examination.